 Yes. So just before the break, we were looking at how Paul had wanted to personally visit the Thessalonians and spend time with them and encourage them and build them up in their faith. But repeatedly, he was blocked by Satan and God permitted it. God allowed that blocking to happen. And so they go on ahead to Athens where they start, you know, doing the ministry over there. And then while they are doing the ministry over there, Paul is so concerned and he's so worried that maybe they have left the faith. And so at that point of time, when he's able to stand it no longer, like he says in verse one and verse five, you know, Thessalonians chapter three, verse one and also verse five. When he says, when I could stand it no longer, then he sends Timothy to find out how they are doing and to encourage them. And Timothy comes back with a very positive report. And this is what, you know, he says about that. So if someone could read out for us, first Thessalonians chapter three, verse six and seven, and maybe even eight, yeah, verses six, seven and eight, please. First Thessalonians three, six, seven and eight, please. And now that Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us really designed to see us as we also to see you. Therefore brethren, in all our application and desires, we were comforted concerning you by your faith. For now, we'll leave if you stand fast and stand fast. Yeah. So Timothy comes back with the good news that they are flourishing in the faith and in love. And they also say, you know, they also tell Timothy that they always have pleasant memories of the Apostolic team. And that's such a lovely thing, right? The way that the Apostolic team ministered among them was so impressive. And it created such a deep impression on their hearts that even now they say they have pleasant memories of those days when the Apostles were staying with them and ministering to them. And they express the longing to see them once again. And so Paul is so relieved to find out that they are very, very strong and the tempter has not been able to take advantage of them in any way. And so he says in the middle of all the distress and persecution, you know that we are facing over here. This is like one bright spot of encouragement. So, you know, even as they are going through all these hardships and trials, they can think, okay, at least our Thessalonian believers are safe. They are doing well. And that brings joy to his heart. And then in verse eight, he makes a rather shocking statement. He says, for now we really live since you are standing firm in the Lord. I mean, I actually looked up a commentary to know to really see whether this is what it means. He says, for now we really live. It's like as if he's saying, you know, when I was feeling so anxious about you people and your faith and whether you have backslidden. At the time it's like as if I was not living. I couldn't breathe. I was not able to take a deep breath and just relax. But now that I know that you're secure in the Lord, I can just relax and breathe once again. It's what he is saying over here. For now we really live is what he says since you are standing firm in the Lord. So it really goes to show how anxious he had been about them and what a great relief it is to him now to find out that these believers are still strong. And you know that all their effort was not in vain. So then he goes on to say, we thank God, how can we thank God enough for you for all the joy we have, you know, because of those believers. And yeah, maybe, maybe you could read out versus nine and 10. Someone could please read out versus nine and 10. Thanks, can we render to God for you all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God. Night and day praying excellently that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith. Yeah, so he says, you know, it's our desire to come once again, because he says that he would like to supply what is lacking in your faith. Now he's not saying that the faith of these Thessalonian believers is defective because he has already finished praising them for their faith. Right. He talked about the work which has been produced through their faith and he speaks very highly of it. So he's not saying that their faith is lacking in the sense it is defective or substandard. He is just basically saying there are some additional things which which I need to teach you which I have not yet told you. And that will build up your faith even more. So right now, you still do not know about these things. And that is why you are kind of still kind of a little, you know, still, still not very developed in those areas. And I want to come and talk about those things with you so that, you know, you'll have greater clarity. And he doesn't exactly elaborate over here so we don't really know what those issues were. You know, things in which these believers had not yet grown. But one thing we do know because in the next chapter he talks about the resurrection. So it looks like one of the main concerns that they had was regarding that matter. So that would have greatly encouraged them and built them up in the faith. So he writes about it in the letter and his hope is that when he goes to them physically he'll be able to explain the, you know, in greater detail regarding the resurrection. Because I think that's one main area where they were feeling very, very sad, very grieved and they were feeling very low about that particular aspect. And so, you know, he explains it very briefly in the letter about the resurrection and he says, now because I have given you this information, encourage each other. So in that sense, they were lacking in faith in this particular area simply because they had not been given information regarding these matters. And so he wanted to personally go to them and explain those particular things to them in greater detail. So he deals with that in the next chapter. So coming to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, you know, he starts off by saying, you know, now you need to practice the things which have been taught. So he talks about different things which they need to put into practice. And one of the main things that he, you know, talks about is maintaining purity in their lives. So verses 3 to 8, that is basically what he talks about. He says, each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable. And he says, you know, you should not take advantage of a brother or sister in this area of, you know, purity. And then he says, the Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, you know, the sin of adultery and all of that. Then he says in verses 7 and 8, you know, regarding this, the same teaching about, you know, maintaining moral purity. So what does he say in verses 7 and 8, if someone could read out 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 7 and 8, please. God did not call us. Go ahead. For God did not call us to be impure but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God. The very God who gives you his holy spirit. So he points out that this is not just some nice advice that Paul is giving over here. He says this is a divine instruction by God himself and this instruction is being given by the God who gave you his holy spirit. So if the holy spirit has been given to you believers and if the holy spirit is dwelling in your physical bodies, you know, in the same way in the Old Testament, God used to dwell in a physical dwelling place. Now if your bodies are that dwelling place of God, then obviously you need to be holy. You can't just dismiss this instruction as a nice teaching but you will have to accept it as something divine that has been given to you by the very God who gave his holy spirit to you. So, you know, it's like mandatory. If we are calling ourselves the dwelling place, the physical dwelling abode of the holy spirit, then obviously we would have to maintain holiness, you know, in our physical bodies. You know, we're just trying to just highlight those things which probably we have not talked about, you know, in the other epistels. 7 and 12. And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, you should mind your own business and work with your hands just as we told you. 12? 12, sorry. So that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders so that you will not be dependent on anybody. Yeah, so here it's talking about the importance of leading a quiet life, the importance of minding our own business, whatever it is that God has given to us and working with our hands. So it's probably, you know, what Paul is talking about, some people who tend to interfere in other people's lives rather than focusing on their own responsibilities and being faithful with whatever has been given to them. They go around interfering with other people and poking their noses into things which have nothing to do with them. And so he says that leads to a very bad impression. Don't do that because there are outsiders who are watching you. So he says instead learn to lead a quiet life where you are just focusing on whatever God has placed in your hands rather than, you know, going and interfering with other people and commenting on what they are doing and commenting on how they should do it. Don't do that. He says rather just simply focus on the work that has been given that has been placed in your own hands. And he says when you live in that way, in fact, the outsiders will respect you. You see, back when Paul and the Apostles were living among them, that's the example which they set, you know, rather than depending on the believers to support them, they worked night and day is what Paul says. They worked night and day to support themselves. They earned their own livelihood. And as a result of that, the Thessalonian believers must have developed a deep respect for them. So now if they conduct themselves in the same manner, the outsiders who are watching the believers, they also will develop a respect for God's people. And they will think, oh, okay, this is how the people of, you know, followers of Jesus live is the impression that they would get. They would see these people as hardworking people who, you know, support themselves rather than, you know, depending on other people and being lazy. So it would build up respect for them even among the outsiders who are watching. And so this becomes an important thing. You know, people think that just because they are believers and because they are supposed to have their focus on spiritual things, they think that that gives them the right to be lazy when it comes to earthly responsibilities. So no, we cannot use the excuse of, you know, spiritual matters to avoid our earthly responsibilities. We cannot do that. Yeah, I can just, you know, mute the brother. Yeah. So we'll now come into the verses 13 onwards, which are talking about this issue of resurrection, which these believers seem to have been very, very deeply concerned about. Okay, so maybe we can just begin by looking at verses 13 and 14, and then, you know, move into other verses. So, you know, if we can have someone read out for us, verse 13 and 14, please. Brother Jesus, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. Yeah, so it looks like as though these particular believers seem to be uninformed about what happens after death. They don't seem to have much teaching or knowledge about that. And because of that, they are very, very concerned about the, you know, their loved ones who have passed away. So they seem to be rather concerned about that. And so here, Paul wants to give them an assurance. If we were to look, you know, in our first chapter, you know, chapter 1 verses 9 and 10, we kind of see what the central hope of these believers was. You know, if someone could go back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 9 to 10, you know, it kind of throws light on this passage, that's why. If someone could go back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and if you could read out verses 9 and 10. For they themselves declared considering us one man of entry we had to you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. And to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead. Even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath of Rattacombe. So these Thessalonian believers believed that one day Jesus would come back and when he would take them with him to their eternal home. So they were kind of waiting for that. And maybe they had the assumption in their mind that it would happen very, very soon. But, you know, while they have been waiting, some of the people who have placed their faith in Jesus, they have died. And the second coming has not happened. So now they are really concerned about these people who have died. I mean, they don't know what has happened to them. You know, are they lost in some way? Have they gone to hell? What has happened to these people who placed their faith in Jesus, waited so eagerly for his return and before he could return, they have died. And so they seem to be uninformed regarding this matter and they are grieving. You see, they are heartbroken that these precious fellow believers were eagerly waiting along with them. But before Jesus could come, they have died. And so now they are wondering what has happened. And so here, you know, Paul speaks deep words of assurance telling them, you know, you don't have to worry about those who have fallen asleep. That's the word that he uses because he says God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. So don't worry about these believers who have passed away because when God comes along with Jesus, they will bring with them these people who have, you know, passed away. So you will actually get to meet them. So you don't have to grieve and worry that they are lost. No, in fact, they are safe and secure in the hands of God. And so when he returns along with Jesus, you in fact will get to meet these people because they will bring the, you know, the ones who have passed away. God will bring with him those people. And then he goes on to explain further regarding this second coming event versus 15 to 18. If you could read out as one chunk versus 15 to 18. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and we who feel the coming of the Lord will by no means recede those who are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. And then who are alive and we shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with those, with these words. Yeah, so he says in verse 15 Paul says, we who are still alive will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. And he goes on to explain in verse 16 that the dead in Christ will rise first. Okay, so what he's trying to say is, you know, when Jesus comes at that time, even before we can meet Jesus Christ, the ones that you're grieving about, you know, this dead believers who have passed away, they are the ones in fact who will rise first and they will meet him. And then we who are living, we also will be caught up into the air and we also will meet him. So all of us together will get to enjoy what Jesus Christ has promised. So these believers who passed away without having seen the return of God, you know, in the physical sense, nothing is lost. They have not lost out in any way. We will get to enjoy, you know, being taken to the eternal home by Jesus. They also will enjoy that nobody is going to be deprived of this eternal hope that we have in the Lord Jesus. So he says the dead in Christ will rise first and after that we who are still alive and are left, we also will be caught up, you know, together with them in the clouds. And so we will be with the Lord forever. So the hope is not lost. So you don't have to grieve for people who have passed away. They too will enjoy God's presence forever. And then he says, you know, comfort each other with these words. So this is what was probably lacking in their faith. You know, when we saw in the previous passage where he says, I would like to supply what is lacking in your faith. Maybe this was this was one particular area where they still did not have much knowledge. And so they were very worried about what has happened to their fallen, you know, to their loved ones. So here he gives them the assurance that see now I'm giving you this information. So comfort each other with these words and you don't have to feel discouraged, you know, just to kind of touch upon another aspect of this passage. So there will be some people who will say that this passage is talking about the rapture and then there will be other people who will say that this passage is talking about the second coming. So there are a lot of debate that goes on regarding this matter. We'll not really get into the whole debate, but let us just look at some scriptures which present, you know, which touch upon this particular topic. So we will have a greater clarity and so we will not get into a deep debate on the rapture and the second coming, you know, because we do not have the time for that. But it is good for us to just look at some scriptures which talk about this. Okay, so Acts chapter 1 verses 11 to 12. If someone can quickly read out Acts 1 11 and 12. 1 11 and 12 men of Galilee. They said, Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taking a way, a taking from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives. A Sabbath day work from the city. So we discover in this passage that when Jesus ascended into heaven, he did that from the Mount of Olives. And the angels tell them in the same way that he has gone, he will come back is what they promise. And in Zechariah chapter 14 verse 4, we kind of see a reference to this. Okay, so if someone could read out, go to the Old Testament and read out Zechariah 14 verse 4. On that day his feet would stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. Okay, so here in Zechariah 14, it's talking about the second coming of the Lord when the Lord will descend upon the Mount of Olives. And when he does that, there will be a mighty earthquake which will in fact cause the mountain to be split into two. And then it says in the earlier verse Zechariah 14 verse 3, God will go out to fight against the nations. So he will defeat all the enemies of God's people. So all these things will occur at the second coming. So now when you look at the Zechariah 14 verse 4 and you look at the Thessalonian passage which we read out just now, we see that there is a slight difference in these two passages. In Zechariah 14, it talks about Jesus literally coming and standing upon Mount of Olives. Okay, so yeah, if I could just mute you brother. So in the Zechariah passage, we see Jesus literally coming and standing upon the Mount of Olives. But in the Thessalonian passage, it just talks about how the believers along with the dead in Christ will be caught up in the clouds. Okay, so which is why people who support rapture, they say that the Thessalonian passage is just talking about Jesus coming in the air, in the clouds. To collect his people. So he will collect those who know who are still in their graves. So the dead who are in Christ will rise up first and then the other believers who are still there on the earth alive, they too will be caught up. So Jesus just collects his people and goes back into heaven and then later on the Zechariah passage will take place when he will actually physically come down and stand on the Mount of Olives. And so people who believe in the rapture event, they will call the Thessalonian 4th passage as rapture and they will refer to the Zechariah 14 passage as the second coming event. They regard it as two separate events. On the other hand you have the other party which will say, no, the Thessalonian passage is not talking about a rapture in the air. It is literally talking about the second coming of Christ which will take place in the end when God will come to fight with the enemies. So that is the main basic difference of opinion regarding these two points of view. So we will just leave it at that please because we cannot have a detailed discussion on the end times right now. And plus moreover, I am not qualified for that. I do not know enough to be able to talk about that intelligently. So if we can move into 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, because of the rapture which will take place, what should we be doing is what he talks about the importance of preparing ourselves, keeping ourselves ready. And that's what he talks about in verses 1 to, maybe we can read all the way. Okay, maybe we can just first read verses 1 to 4. If someone could please read out 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 1 to 4. The day of the Lord. Now brothers and sisters, about times and dates, we do not need to write to you. For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly. As labor pains on a pregnant woman and they will not escape. But you brothers and sisters are not in the in darkness so that these days should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the Lord. Yeah, we will stop with verse 4, just to touch upon this whole idea of not being caught unaware. So he says over here, the people of the world, they are not very aware of these spiritual things. So when the Lord Jesus comes, they will be caught unaware. They will be caught unprepared. But you don't have to be in that state, you believers because you know the facts and you know that he will surprise you like a thief. So on that day, you don't have to be caught unaware. You can start preparing yourself and be ready. So that when the Master shows up, you are already ready and waiting and you are already done everything that you should have done. And so you know he will be pleased with all the sincere, faithful effort that you have put in. So he says, don't be like the people of the world who will be caught by surprise. You on the other hand, do not need to be caught by surprise. You can instead be ready and waiting for him to come. And so then he elaborates upon that in verses 5 to 7. So yes, if we could read out verses 5 to 7. Your children of the light and children of the day, we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep at night and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. So here he is kind of dividing the people into two categories. He says there are people who are children of the light and then you have people of the darkness. So the people of the darkness are the ones. What kind of activities do they do? Because they belong in the realm of darkness. They belong in the realm of night, symbolic night. So what do they do? They sleep and they get drunk. So rather than being actively engaged in purposeful activity that God has given, rather than doing that, they are sleeping away in a way spiritually sleeping away all the days and not doing what God has put in their hands. And they are also drunk in the sense. They are so caught up and overwhelmed by the things of the darkness that they have no time to sit down and soberly, seriously think about eternal matters. So this is how the people of the night, the people of darkness operate. But he says, you and I, we are children of the light, we are children of the day. So we can't behave like this other set of people. We have to be awake and we have to be sober is what he says. Even as we are kind of thinking about this whole concept of day and night, Jesus also kind of uses this imagery. So maybe we could just very briefly look at that. In John chapter nine versus four and five, John nine, four and five. John nine, four and five. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I'm in the world, I am the light of the world. So right now this current age that we are living in, this is the age when the gospel is available to all. And the light of the world is inviting people to come and live in his light. So now is the day in that sense. We can say that what we are going, what we are living in right now is the age of the day when there is still opportunity being given to people to come to the Lord, to be saved, to be redeemed. And a time will come when it will become night. That time it will be too late. That will be the time of judgment. So in that day it will be too late for people to turn to the Lord. So now while it is still day, it is good for people to come to the Lord. And because one day the night will come and once that night comes, then the day is finally finished. And at that time this only condemnation and judgment awaiting those who are left. So in that sense Jesus uses the terms day and night. So over here the terms day and night are used slightly differently. Here it's just talking about people who act like us if they belong to the day. So they stay active, they reach out to the gospel to people. They themselves equip, when it comes to themselves, they equip themselves and are ready and prepared to receive the groom when he comes. So all of that happens for the people of the day. The people of the night, they don't even think about these things. They are just wiling away their time sleeping, drinking and they are just wasting away their lives. So over here Paul is using day and night in that sense. So we believers we should be very busy because it is still day. The same way Jesus was busy doing the works of the Father during the day. We also who belong to the day must be very very busy going about the work which God has entrusted to us. Because one day, one night the night will come and at that time it will be too late. So we have a responsibility both towards other people in sharing the gospel with them and also towards ourselves in preparing ourselves and getting ready for the return of the Lord. Brother Shey you have raised your hand go ahead. Yes Pastor I was just also going to say that I also saw that verse in another light in terms of the season of Christ being able to do what he was supposed to do in terms of his time, active time in ministry and then the closeout time which is the night when he was going to face the crucifixion and then later on ascends. So you just try another light. So I was just like okay wow okay I never saw it that way. So I just thought maybe because I've also used it as an example for our own lives that while we're young and active we're in our day. A time is coming where the energy we have now will not be there to do the things that God has committed to our hands. So the night is coming when no man can work. So that's what I thought but you try another light to it. So I just thought I just brought that comment in and comment what you just said. Thank you. Yeah so what you said again is referring to at least the SDS where it says you know when you're still young go about and do the works that have been committed to you. So yes in different scriptures we see this whole concept of night and day, light and darkness being used in varying senses. So I suppose we would look at the immediate context in which this particular passage is used and you know think of it accordingly. So over here of course the very clear instruction is that we should not be behaving like the people of darkness who are just simply sleeping away spiritually sleeping away their days being lazy, being drunk and occupied and overcome by other things but rather we should be sober minded. We should be awake and alert doing the things that have been committed to us and one way of doing that how do we do that that is explained in verse 8. If someone could read out verse 8. But since we belong to the day let us be sober putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet. So over here you know faith and love are combined together and represented by the breastplate and then salvation of course is referred to as a helmet which protects the head. So faith and love being combined together to form one single piece of armor. Where do we see faith and love being spoken of together? We see that in James where James says no point in saying that you know you have faith if it doesn't show up in your works. So your works of love will show whether you genuinely have faith in Jesus or not is what he says over there. And we see that as being the same concept being mentioned even in Galatians 5 verse 6. If someone could read out Galatians 5 verse 6. Galatians 5 verse 6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or circumcision is against anything but faith working through love. Yeah. So how does the faith express itself? It expresses itself through love. Genuine faith will express itself through love. And so when a person is operating in faith which is daily expressing itself outwardly by trust in Jesus love towards and devotion towards him and concern towards people. If a person is living like that then that becomes like a breastplate for that person. It literally protects them all the way from the neck level right down to below their knees. Because we kind of briefly talked about that when we were looking at Ephesians. So for them the breastplate was just basically two large plates of leather. One in the front, one at the back. And then you would have kind of bindings tying up the front portion and the back portion together. So it would be held together by some kind of leather bonds over here in the middle on the shoulders. So this thing hangs off your shoulders all the way down to below your knees. So in fact all of you gets protected. In fact the only exposed part of course would be your head. And of course you will have the helmet of salvation that hope which you have in the eternal hope which you have in the Lord which will preserve your head. But as for the rest of the body, this breastplate will take care of that. So if we want to stay shielded protected from the night, from the time of judgment, when the second coming happens, when the Lord comes like a thief and surprises the unbelievers at that point of time, we should be able to stand over there shielded by the breastplate. And what kind of a breastplate would we be wearing? We have lived out our faith on a daily basis by our love towards God and by our love and concern towards people. That's the way we have expressed our faith on a daily basis. So we are now shielded by that breastplate and God's judgment will not come upon us. So it's talking about the breastplate in that sense. So here we see that again those three things are mentioned that triad is what they call it in the commentaries. Faith, hope and love all operating together in the believer's life. So we see that here. And then now he kind of moves on to the next point. Maybe we can look at verse 12 and 13 if someone could read out. Yeah, 12 and 13. And we urge you to recognize those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and acknowledge you and to esteem them very highly in love for their work sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Yeah, now this is a very important instruction that Paul is giving over here. He says acknowledge those who work hard among you who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. So these are the spiritual leaders of the church that are being talked about here. So he says, you know, brothers and sisters, you must acknowledge the hard work that they are putting in. It is not easy shepherding a flock and these people are sincerely trying to do that. They are trying to take care of you in the Lord, acknowledge their hard work, you know. So they will admonish you. They will correct you. And there are times when you will not agree with them, you know, regarding what they are saying. But even when you don't agree with them, at least acknowledge that they are sincere in their hard work, that they genuinely have your concern in their heart. You know, you make sure that you understand that. And he says, hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. And he says, live in peace with each other. So, you know, hold them in high regard, live in peace with them. You know, so even if you differ in your opinions with them, don't let that color the way you treat them. You know, so continue to have respect for them because these are people who are sincerely working very hard to take care of you in the Lord. So that's one very important piece of advice that, you know, Paul is giving over here to the believers. Then maybe another thing that we could touch upon in the last few minutes that we have, you know, versus 16, 17 and 18, if someone could read out. Rejoice always frequently, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Yeah, there are three, oh yeah, yeah. We'll just look at that little bit because we only have three minutes. So there are three things mentioned over here in a row and it says, this is God's will for you. So no matter what you're going through in your life, what kind of situations you are facing, these three things are God's will for us. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. So why do we choose to rejoice? Not because the situation is pleasant, but we rejoice that, you know, because our God is in charge. He will take care. He is faithful. So he will do whatever is required, whatever is necessary. You know, this kind of touches upon Romans 8 28 where it says in all things, whether they are good things or whether they are, you know, negative things that are happening in all things. God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose. So he does a calling on our lives. So he will take care. He will work in all of those situations on our behalf. Therefore, we are urged to continue rejoicing always, whether good things are happening or whether negative things are happening. And even as we are rejoicing, pray continually. Don't give up. Don't give up hope and say, oh, you know, this is beyond hope. You know, the Lord is not going to come through in this particular situation. No, never have that feeling, never have that attitude. Rejoice always, you know, because you're rejoicing because you're hoping in him. Pray continually because you are hoping in him. Don't give up and say, oh, no, you know, this is he's not going to help me with this. Never have that wrong attitude and give thanks in all circumstances because whatever the circumstances may be, God has permitted them for a divine purpose. So, you know, when Paul was blocked from going to the Thessalonian believers on multiple occasions, he tried going to them. But Satan blocked it and God permitted that to happen. You know, God did not unblock the situation. God allowed it. And even in those circumstances, I'm sure Paul and his team gave thanks to the Lord because they knew that God would take care. You know, God is never helpless. He's always in charge. So when he permits something which seems to be very damaging or very negative, we can still give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances. Because, you know, we are safe and secure in his hand because we have been called according to his purposes, like it says in Romans 8 28. Yeah, we only have one minute left. So just to kind of, you know, to say something further regarding these verses, because you see these verses were being given to the Thessalonian believers who were undergoing severe persecution. So to them, the advice he gives is, rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. And why can we have this kind of a hope? You know, Lamentations 3 verse 33 says something very lovely. It says, he does not willingly bring affliction or grief, you know, to the sons of men. That's the wording that is used in Lamentations 3 33. God never and it just, it's not talking about believers, unbelievers. It's just saying all the sons of men in all human beings, God does not willingly bring affliction or grief on anyone. That is his stand. That is his attitude. So he doesn't hurt anyone just for the sake of oppressing them or crushing them. There's always a plan and a purpose of why he permits certain things. So when we choose to place our faith in him and we choose to rejoice and pray continually and give thanks, then the Lord will work out whatever it is that he wishes to accomplish through that particular, you know, situation. So Paul speaks words of hope to them and he concludes his letter with that. And yeah, we are really out of time. So yes, let's just, you know, quickly conclude with the word of prayer. Lord, we just thank you so much for all the wonderful things that we could learn from your word today. Lord, we see that Paul and his team set very high standards a lot for ministry. They had a genuine heart of love where they looked upon the people whom they were serving like as if they were their own children. So we pray a lot that you would build that kind of an attitude even in us. It is not an thing, Lord, and it is something that can only be divinely done, but we look to you so that you can test our hearts and discover that we are actually approved and you can entrust us with your ministry work. So we pray a lot that you would do that in each one of us, even as we commit ourselves into your hands. And we pray a lot that we will hold on to the resurrection hope that we have in you and that up to the end we will endure no matter what the circumstances may be that we are facing. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you so much. And yes, we will meet again next class.